MW: U.S. stocks little changed ahead of confidence
By Kate Gibson
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- General Electric Co.'s GE +2.09% results helped neutralize displeasure with Intel Corp.'s INTC -6.35% quarterly release on Friday, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -0.0034% ahead of a report on consumer confidence. The University of Michigan-Thomson Reuters initial read on consumer sentiment for January should yield a positive result on the heels of holiday retail numbers that showed "the Grinch didn't steal Christmas," said Art Hogan, market strategist at Lazard Capital Markets. The Dow industrials were lately up 8.52 points to 13,604.54. The S&P 500 index SPX -0.08% held steady at 1,480.60. The Nasdaq Composite COMP -0.21% shed 6.64 points to 3,129.36.
